Water-softening apparatus



SOFTENING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 12,

INVENTOR WITNESS Patented Aug. 19, 1930 ANDREW J. DOTTERWEICH, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNbR T0 AUTO- -MATI [C WATER SOFTENER COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPO- RATION OF DELAWARE WATER-SOFTENING APPARATUS v Application filed December 12, 1927. Serial No. 239,489.

This invention relates to-watersoftening apparatus, more particularly to valve mechanism therefor, the present' application being acontinuation in part of my co-pending application Serial Number 95,872, filed March 19,1926.

In my co-pending application, referred to above, I. have disclosed water softening'apparatus comprising a softening tank and a salt tank for regenerating the softening material, and a valve mechanism for controlling the flow of fluid to and away from the softening and salt tank for the several operations of softening, back-washingsalting and flushing out the salt solution from the softening tank.

The several fluid passages controlling these operations are controlled by a special form of piston valve of the fluid pressure actuated type, which are operated by a loss of head in the actuating medium.

The present application is directed to the features of this special valve mechanism which is more clearly illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational View of the control mechanism; Fig. 2 a sectional elevational view thereof; Fig. 3 a diagrammatic view illustrating the functional characteristics of the piston valve,and Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View of a pair of inter-connected valves in accordance with the invention.

As shown in the drawing, a plurality of valves 1, 2, 3, are severally adapted to control a plurality of passages, the valve 1 controlling passages 4 and 5; valve 2, passages 6 and 7; and valve 3, passages 8 and 9, the purpose of which having been described in the above identified co-pending application.

Valves 1, 2 and 3 are secured to or integrally formed with piston members 10 by a stem 11 and are normally biased by a coil spring 12 to their euppermost extended position in their cylinders 13. The coil spring 12 seats against thepiston head 10 at one end and against a shoulder provided by a gland or washer 14 attheir other end.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing I have diagrammatically illustrated the piston 10 to more clearly point out its functional and structural characteristics, and I have shown the piston cylinder 13 as provided with passages 15 and 16 having valves 17 and 18, respectively, the passages being of dilferent sizes to vary the flow of fluid through the cylinder chamber when valves 17 and 18 are in their open position.

The pistons 10 are leak-proof and responsive to pressure in the upper cylinder chamber 19. With the piston 10 in its upper extended position produced through the coil spring 12, fluid pressure entering the piston chamber .19 through the passage 16 and flowing out at the passage 15 will have a loss of head due to the restricted passage 15, that is, the latter being smaller than the inlet passage 16, will cause pressure to be exerted on the piston 10 displacing the same against the pressure of spring 12 thereby operating valve 1. The same result may be produced by fluid pressure entering at the passage 15 and restricting its flow through outlet passage 16 by the control valve 18, that is to say, if the passage 16 is throttled down by valve 18 to produce a loss of head, piston 10 will be displaced to control the valve with which it is connected in the same manner as when fluid is conducted through passage 16 and out at passage 15 without controlling these passages by the valves 17 and 18.

The fact that a lossof head may be produced, asexplained above, by conducting the liquid through either the smaller passage or the lar er passage by allowing free passage in the first instance and restricting the fiow by the valve 18 under the latter conditions, a single source of fluid pressure may be employed to actuate a plurality ofvalves such as are shown in .Figs. 1 and 2.

This is illustratedin Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawing, wherein 20 represents an inlet passage to the piston cylinder 13; 21 the outlet from the first piston cylinder which is through a branch connection conducted to the upper two cylinders entering the latter through passages 22' and 23. The upper cylinders are drained by a pipe line 24 having branches 25 and 26leading to the cylinders.

fully explained in my co-opending applicaflow of fluid in said cylinders to actuate the tion or the drain may be open to the atmosphere.

Instead of employin manually controlled valves diagrammatical y illustrated in Fig. 3, the outlet passage from the cylinders 13 are controlled by solenoid actuated valves 28 disposed within solenoids 29 which are electrically connected in a suitable control circuit whereby they may be remotely controlled to operate their respective piston valves for the various operations normal to the use of the water softening apparatus. The valve of the lower piston member controls the inlet passage 20 which is larger than the outlet pas- .sage of the line 21. In the upper cylinders solenoid actuated valves 28 control the outlet passages which are largerthan the inlet passages to-produce loss of head for actuat ing the piston member. This is in accordance with the explanation given in connection with Fig. 3 to the eiicct that a loss of head may be produced by either controlling the flow from theinlet passage where such passage is larger than the outlet passage or by controlling the outlet passage where the latter is larger than the inlet passage.

It is further evident from a consideration of Fig. 2 of thedrawing that the piston Valves may be normally held in their upper. positions by pressure in the lower portion of the cylinder chamber, that is, on the bottom side of the p ston when the outlet passage 24 of the pistons is' open to the atmosphere in which with. It is also evident that piston valves of the type herein described may be applied to other uses Where a source of fluid pressure is available to operate the valves in the manner described.

I claim:

1,. A valve mechanism comprising a plurality of cylinders, pistons therefor, an inlet passage leading to one of said cylinders, an outletpassage of lesser area than'said inlet passage connecting said first named cylinder and the other of said cylinders, an outlet passage for the last named cylinder, and valves controlling the inlet passage of the first named cylinder and the outlet passage of the last named cylinder, whereby to control the area than its inlet passage, and valves 'for controlling the inlet passage of the first named cylinder and the outlet passage of the 1, last named cylinder, whereby to control the piston members.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

ANDREW J. DOTTERWEICH.

case the coil springs 12 may be dispensed Hill 

